How much should a cleaning lady cost?

[FreeAtLast]

I pay $80 for 4 hours to clean a 2500 SF home in the S. Florida area. This is one of my reasons for still working PT. I rather program computers than clean house.

[Buckeye]

We have always used private people found through word-of-mouth. Our cleaning lady in Orlando was so in-demand we had to get on a waiting list but it was worth it. She charged $20 per hour for 3 hours every other week to clean (more like detailing) a 2000 sq ft 4/2.5. We sold the house after 3 years and it still looked brand new. She was amazing!

Our 55+ apartment complex has excellent housekeepers. The charge for our 2/2, 1000 sq ft is $55 for about 2 hours of cleaning. I haven't had to pitch in with the housekeeping for the last 8 years because I was working full time and DH was the domestic diva. Now that I'm not working, I'm supposed to share the housekeeping duties. Still working on the transition!

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I think that instead of hiring someone I'll turn down the lights so that dirt is harder to see. Oh, I know! I'll darken my rooms by replacing incandescent lightbulbs with those dim CFL bulbs. That should do the trick.

That's my line of thinking. When DW and I were picking carpet color I wanted the speckled brown so it wouldn't show dirt.

That just earned another eyeroll look from DW.

She insisted on the light tan "sandy beach" color, which as I predicted shows every speck. Over 20+ years of marriage I have learned to shut up about some things.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Over 20+ years of marriage I have learned to shut up about some things.

After 40+ years of marriage, I have learned to shut up about everything ...

You still have some lessons to be learned (I'm sure you will do well...)

[jayc]

SW Ohio, $55 for 4 hours every 2 weeks, 1 person self employed

[skyvue]

Do these people generally bring their own vaccum's, dusters, cleaning supplies, etc.....? Or do they normally just use what you have available?

[Nodak]

My cleaning lady comes in once a month and takes about 4 hours for an 880 square foot house. She charges $15 per hour. I have my own vacuum and I supply dusters and paper towels.

[HFWR]

What are these "valuable things that might be broken" of which you speak?

[kcowan]

Once every 2 weeks for $100. She also does ironing! From 9:30 to 3:00. We found her by advertising and then through referral after our maid got married.

[Charlotte]

I live near Charlotte, NC, and we pay $100 for about 4 hours work to clean a 2300 square foot house (3 br, 2.5 bath). She brings all the cleaning supplies except for the vacuum cleaner and mop (uses ours). In addition to cleaning, she changes the sheets and runs them thru the wash. She comes every other week. Money well spent for us working folks, that is for sure!!

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 Over 20+ years of marriage I have learned to shut up about some things.

Approaching 3 years and I still open my mouth way to much...


But I am going to stand my ground on some of the things....

[WhoDaresWins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyvue Do these people generally bring their own vaccum's, dusters, cleaning supplies, etc.....? Or do they normally just use what you have available?

The lady who cleaned for me in my previous home told me what products she preferred for cleaning, and I made sure they were purchased. She used my vacuum and squeegee mop. I did not have her do laundry or change sheets, just clean the kitchen, bathrooms, vacuum and dust every other week which was plenty in a 4800 square foot house.
When I moved in 2004 (to smaller quarters) she declined to travel to my new home which would have been a distance of 18 miles each way for her. She had people on a waiting list for her services in the community. I used to do a run through the house before she was expected, picking up things and tossing them into closets or hampers, swabbing toothpaste blobs out of the sink...didn't want her to think we were a bunch of slobs.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud Approaching 3 years and I still open my mouth way to much... But I am going to stand my ground on some of the things....

One more example of a guy who doesn't heed the advice of Will Rogers:

- There are two theories to arguing with a woman .. . Neither works.

- Never miss a good chance to shut up.

[DFA]

Using Merry Maids service; pay $112, every other week, for 3,000SF home. Just basic cleaning of the house and the finished basement once a month.

[ChadR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhoDaresWins I used to do a run through the house before she was expected, picking up things and tossing them into closets or hampers, swabbing toothpaste blobs out of the sink...didn't want her to think we were a bunch of slobs.

ha ha ha. My DW does this and insists I help which drives me crazy!! I totally understand doing a run through to pick up misc. clutter that might be on tables and desks etc so that the cleaner's can actually clean those surfaces. However, she invariably starts actually cleaning.

[Glo]

We live in the Youngstown area and my lady charges $10 per hour. Now that she has everything under control, it takes about 5 hours to clean 2000 suuare feet. I give her an extra $10 each time because she does so well. She comes every other week.

[obgyn65]

I pay $60 for a small condo in an expensive area.

[Glo]

How do these ladies clean 2400 sq ft in 4 hours? That just doesn't seem possible.

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glo How do these ladies clean 2400 sq ft in 4 hours? That just doesn't seem possible.

What our lady does is all the basics and then cycles through other chores e.g. cleaning windows, thorough dusting, ironing, polishing brass, as time permits every 2 weeks.

Once in a while we discover something she has missed and call her attention to it so it can be slotted into the cycle. Our place is 2000 sq.ft. all on one floor.

[Saulik]

Every cleaning person I've had over the years wants to have a set price.....$150 to clean your house every 2 weeks for example. The key is to make it an hourly arrangement, otherwise what starts to be a 5 hour job turns in, over time, to an 1 1/2 job for the same set fee. It's happened over and over. $20 to $30 per hour is a good price in Calif.